ORLANDO KEEPS BAN ON SUNDAY LIQUOR SALES CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS CODE SETTING UP NEW ZONING RULES

Bowing to opposition, the Orlando City Council decided Monday not to allow Sunday liquor sales or ban signs on highrise buildings, but approved new zoning rules and other policies in a sweeping new Land Development Code.

Along with the zoning, the code contains stiffer rules to reduce the size and number of billboards, tree protection laws and dozens of other development policies.

In adopting the code Monday, the council has not yet rezoned the city but simply established the names and rules for the 23 new zoning categories.

The new code takes effect Aug. 20, giving the Municipal Planning Board and city council time to notify all property owners of the citywide rezoning and hold a series of public hearings in July and August on the proposed changes. Mailings of 42,000 notices explaining the changes to property owners are being sent this week.

"I think the tough part is ahead of us," Mayor Bill Frederick said Monday.

The decision to retain the Sunday ban on beer, wine and liquor sales came with little discussion after council members learned that churches and community groups favored it.

About 60 supporters of the Sunday ban packed the council chambers at the 5 p.m. public hearing, but none spoke after learning that a majority of council members planned to vote to keep it. There was no one present who spoke in favor of lifting the ban.

The shift in council position was initiated by member Glenda Hood, who said she had been besieged by visits and phone calls from constituents and petitions from neighborhood associations.

"It is not a religious issue at all . . . but it may be a neighborhood issue," Hood said. Most opponents of Sunday liquor sales like having one day without the traffic and loitering that sometimes surrounds bars and package stores, Hood said.

Council member Nap Ford, who initially supported the proposal as a way to remove a religiously oriented law, said he, too, changed his mind after hearing from constituents, particularly elderly residents who live near the bars on Parramore Avenue. Mabel Butler also reversed her stance.

Leading the drive to keep the ban was community activist and radio talk- show host Joe Flores. He was joined by several ministers, including the Rev. Jim Henry of First Baptist Church of Orlando.

Pat Schwartz and Jeff Clark were the only council members supporting the Sunday sales. Clark said he didn't understand the logic of the Sunday ban, and he joked that if the package stores and bars cause so many neighborhood hassles, perhaps the city should ban sales on Fridays and Saturdays as well.

Highrise signs prompted the longest debate of the 3-hour hearing as several Orlando's business leaders lined up for and against a downtown study committee's proposal that would have banned building signs higher than 30 feet.

The proposal had been endorsed by city planners, architects and the board of directors of the Downtown Orlando Inc. business group as a way of encouraging architectural diversity. It not only would have prohibited new signs, but also required removal of familiar downtown landmarks, such as the identifying letters on the CNA building.

"Presumedly, intelligent people can find buildings without signs on top," argued Tom Peters, one of the developers of the giant DuPont Centre project proposed for downtown. Peters said the signs are little more than expressions of "corporate ego."

However, Sherman Dantzler, chief executive officer of the bank that will be the major tenant of that project, argued that the signs help newcomers.

The ban would throw an "economic wet blanket" over the city by depriving many businesses of opportunities to attract customers, added Peter Barr, an advertising executive. If the issue is aesthetics, remember "there are also ugly buildings," Barr said.

Instead of the ban, council members agreed to a proposal from Frederick that would require all signs to be approved by the city council after review by a city design board. Council members Mary Johnson, Hood and Ford voted with Frederick on that idea.

"Downtowns are supposed to have a little glitter," said Frederick.

The council also rejected a request from an outdoor advertising company owner to remove a new rule that will require all billboards to be approved by city council. Andy Anderson, president of Peterson Outdoor Advertising, argued that the condition was unfair to an entire industry.

The billboard rules would require a 40 percent reduction in the size of billboards, to a maximum of 400 square feet, and would impose new spacing and zoning restrictions. All signs would have to conform to the new rules within five years.

Most of the other criticisms came from city residents who said the city should delay approval of the Land Development Code until after all city residents learn more about the zoning so that residents with complaints could try to change the zoning rules.

But Frederick said adopting the code first and the rezonings later lets the council approve general rules with the good of the entire city in mind.

Property owners and residents with questions about the impact of the zoning changes will have a chance to meet with planners throughout the week of July 8, when the city sets up its information center at Expo Centre from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.